Sufian walked in to find Matt, who looked more disgusted than terrified. He was still scared, but...

  "Matt! Are you alright?!" Sufian called out.

  Matt, looking somewhere else, shouted, "D-Don't come any closer!"

  Ali, stepping in behind Sufian, wrinkled his nose. "Uhhh, hold up. What the heck is this?"

  Malak’s eyes widened. "Is that a... giant ant next to Matt?"

  Sufian frowned. "What is that? Loudboots, do you know?"

  Snagglix tilted his head. "Hmm... Boblin don’t know this one. But it not look mad-mad, y’know?"

  Thoren stepped forward calmly. "I believe this one is from a tribe called... Gnath."

  "Gnath, huh..." Sufian muttered, studying the creature.

  (It's true, the Gnath doesn't look like it's trying to attack him. Even so, Matt looks pretty scared...)

  Snagglix waved a hand at Matt. "You good? Look-look! It just wants fun-fun, no hurt-hurt!"

  Matt recoiled. "Yikes! Now there's a green head monster?!"

  Snagglix puffed up. "Not a monster, no-no! I'm Snagglix Loudboots!!"

  Pimi stomped in, hands on her hips. "Calling us monsters is pretty rude!"

  Thoren nodded sternly. "I concur."

  Matt gawked. "Argh! Toddlers who sound like adults now?!"

  Sufian sighed. "Hey Matt, Loudboots isn’t a monster. Chill out!"

  Matt clenched a fist. "‘Chill out’? Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!"

  (It’ll be tough to get Matt to calm down...)

  Snagglix leaned toward Sufian. "Huh? Him your buddy, Sufian?"

  Thoren inspected Matt. "He is Hyur, that is for certain..."

  Pimi tilted her head. "He's kinda pathetic, isn't he?"

  Ali smirked. "What a relief! You must be okay if you can still be the same old jerk."

  Matt looked like he was about to explode... but seeing familiar faces relaxed him a little.

  "Shut your pie hole... Listen, this isn't the only thing I saw!" Matt insisted.

  (At any rate, looks like Matt’s got a new "friend" in the Gnath. Kinda.)

  "There was this ghost, man... and some huge monster over there," Matt added, voice dropping.

  Ali glanced left and right. "Over there? Where?"

  (Before Sufian could think, a creepy giggle echoed.)

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "Shee-hee-hee-hee..."

  Matt jolted, jumping in place. "Yeek! Wh-what the heck was that sound?!"

  Ali paled. "You think it was a g-ghost? Where'd it come from?"

  "Shee..."

  Matt froze, unable to speak.

  (We definitely heard something... but a ghost? Maybe we should wait and see...)

  Ali tried to lighten the mood. "Matt's pretty freaked out, ain't he? Maybe he's just imagining things?"

  Thoren looked serious. "I fear it's as he says. Something suspicious wafts throughout this building."

  "For real?!" Ali yelped.

  Pimi wrinkled her nose. "Yeah... something stinks here."

  Ali gulped. "What could be suspiciously stinky?"

  Looking up, he spotted a faint dark smog.

  "Hey, Sufian... why don't you snap a pic over there?" Ali suggested.

  "Over there...?" Sufian pointed.

  (Maybe we’ll learn something if I use the camera like Ali said.)

  "Come on, get snappy with snapping!" Ali said, nudging him.

  Matt grumbled. "Sightseeing at a time like this... Aint you just easy-breezy. Fine, do what you want..."

  (Click click!)

  As soon as Sufian took the picture, spiderwebs appeared all over the room.

  "Huh...?"

  The spiderwebs were thick and everywhere — walls, ceiling, furniture.

  "A spiderweb?"

  Thoren took a battle stance. "Be on your guard, everyone!"

  Ali backed up. "Heyyy, Sufian! Huh? Wait, hold up. Where did all this come from...?"

  Snagglix wrinkled his nose. "Eeesh! What’s this gunk?! Place all sticky-stick, white-thread mess!!"

  (Whoa, spiderwebs suddenly appeared everywhere! What in the world...?)

  Thoren’s voice turned grim. "Remain vigilant... I still sense our mysterious friend nearby."

  "Oh boy, oh jeez... Sufian, my man, let's make like a bread truck and haul buns!" Ali joked nervously.

  Suddenly—

  "UWAAAH!!!" Matt screamed.

  "Yeep!" Malak shrieked.

  Ali whirled around. "EeeYOW!!! Damn, Matt, stop screaming like that outta nowhere! You scared me silly!"

  Pimi scanned the group and gasped. "Huh? Wait... where's Malak? Malak? MALAK?! Answer meee!"

  "Huh? What's wrong, Pimi?" Sufian asked.

  Pimi's voice shook. "It's Malak—she's gone! She disappeared!"

  "WHAT?!" Ali shouted. "But she was just here!"

  Thoren cursed. "Gadzooks! So sudden...!"

  Matt, shaking, whispered, "It was the monster..."

  Ali blinked. "The... monster?"

  "Yeah, yeah, that's right... I saw it snatch her and disappear! Honest! I saw it, I tell ya!" Matt babbled.

  "Loudboots, is the thing that made off with Malak like you guys?" Sufian asked.

  Snagglix shook his head frantically. "Don't know! Too zoom-zoom for Boblin eyes to see!!"

  Ali's voice cracked. "No way! You didn’t notice it at all?! What'll we do if it attacks us too?!"

  Sufian tensed. "This is just like the Tonberries... Let’s assume this thing’s stronger than it looks."

  Ali shivered. "We're trapped in a spiderweb nest, right? You think we're... next?!"

  Matt wailed. "No! HELL no!!! I ain't goin' down like that! I—I want my mommy!"

  Thoren bowed his head. "The moment I sensed an unpleasant presence... it had already made off with Malak. Forgive me."

  Snagglix wrung his hands. "Boblin shoulda peeked more better... Sorry-sorry."

  Pimi's eyes filled with tears. "Ohhh, and after we finally got to meet... Malak..."

  "I'm sorry, Pimi..." Sufian muttered.

  (Everyone’s scared and confused. Even me. I can't think straight.)

  Ali looked desperate. "What’re we gonna do, Sufian?"

  Matt snapped. "I'll tell you what we're gonna do! Get the hell out of here, of course!"

  Ali glared. "What're you saying?! You wanna leave Malak behind?!"

  Matt hesitated. "It ain't like we'll catch up if we chase it..."

  Sufian crossed his arms. "That’s not a foregone conclusion."

  Pimi wiped her eyes. "Anyway, Malak’s in trouble! We all have to split up and look for her!"

  (Hmm... splitting up sounds dangerous...)

  Matt protested. "That's what I'm saying! What if one of us gets snatched?! We should stick together!"

  Ali shook his head. "But we can cover more ground that way, right?"

  Thoren smiled grimly. "Indubitably. Worry not, we’ll be right beside you."

  Pimi clenched her fists. "Yeah, let’s split into groups! I'll go on ahead! Thanks for your help, everyone!"

  (Woah, totally ignored...)

  Snagglix bounced. "Come-come, Sufian! We movin’ too, yes-YES!!"

  "Yeah!" Sufian nodded, eyes burning with determination. "We'll get Malak back for sure!"

  ?????